The use of support brackets to mount or hold various components is well known, particularly in the art of engine design. Brackets are used, for example, to mount an engine component to a cylinder head, engine block, or other engine member, without having the component directly contact the engine member.
For example, a conventional bracket includes a base member and a shelf secured to the base member to accommodate an engine component, and a tubular spacer welded to the base member. The base member is mounted to an engine surface with a capscrew. More specifically, the capscrew extends through a hole in a center of the tubular spacer and the base member to mount the conventional bracket against an engine surface.
Problems exist with such a conventional bracket. For example, the weld of the spacer to the base member has been found to fail due to various factors, such as mechanical and thermal stresses, vibration, and highly concentrated loading on a small contact area between the spacer and the base member. A need exists for an improved support bracket.